UCLA’s Kevin Love reaches for a rebound during the second half of the
NCAA men’s basketball tournament West Regional final against Xavier,
Saturday, March 29, 2008, in Phoenix. Love scored 19 points, had 10
rebounds and was picked as the most outstanding player of the West
Regional. UCLA won 76-57.

PHOENIX – Just before UCLA embarked on its now-routine drill of cutting down the nets to celebrate a Final Four berth, point guard Darren Collison jumped off the podium and onto the back of center Kevin Love.

For the first time in a while, the rest of the Bruins didn’t need to hop on, either.

With its best effort of the NCAA Tournament, complete with balanced scoring and a full 40 minutes of defense, the top-seeded Bruins find themselves where they expected to be five months ago – in a third straight Final Four.

Love and Collison each scored 19 points, but they had plenty of help as four Bruins scored in double figures, and Xavier suffered through its second-worst shooting performance of the season as top-seeded UCLA battered the third-seeded Musketeers 76-57 in Saturday’s West Regional final at US Airways Center.

Yet, unlike the past two years, when the Bruins did not win a national title, the celebration was markedly more docile.

“Last year was a little more joyful, and my freshman year we were a lot happier,” said Collison, a junior. “This year it’s, `OK, now we can’t go back and do the same thing.’ That’s what I like about this team. We know when to feel good, and when not to. And even though we made it to the Final Four, we’re still trying to stay humble.”

UCLA’s opponent will be decided today, when South Region finalists No. 1 seed Memphis and No. 2 seed Texas meet. The teams will play Saturday in San Antonio.

“As I said before, I think this is by far, the best team in the last three years,” UCLA fifth-year coach Ben Howland said, “because we do have a key ingredient, (an) inside player (Love) that can score and rebound like nobody else in the country.”

Bruins power forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had his best game of the season, scoring 13 points and added 13 rebounds while getting to seemingly every loose ball Love (10 rebounds) could not get his hands on.

Mbah a Moute, who has battled a sprained left ankle lately, is the only Bruin to start for the three Final Four teams.

UCLA is the third program (Duke 1988-92 and Michigan State 1999-2001) to reach the Final Four three straight times since the field expanded to 64teams in 1985.

“We’re definitely not satisfied with going to the Final Four,” Mbah a Moute said. “We want to have a better outcome than we had the last two years. UCLA is about hanging national championship banners. Going to the Final Four is not going to cut it.”

Russell Westbrook added 17 points and was instrumental in leading UCLA’s defense as Xavier scored its third fewest points of the season in shooting 36.2 percent from the field.

“The thing that amazes me about UCLA’s defense is they don’t foul,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “They are physical. They blitz and trap every pick-and-roll you set. They trap the low post. They pressure the ball.”

The past two years the Bruins fell to eventual champions Florida – once in the title game and another in the national semifinals, but they are more equipped to play against the nation’s best because of Love.

The West Region’s most outstanding player, Love’s versatility and rebounding tenacity makes UCLA well- rounded. He is averaging 21.8points and 11 rebounds per game in the NCAA Tournament, but when Xavier tried to double team him early in the game, he remained patient and found teammates open shots.

“I think we have all the pieces right now – from Kevin to the walk-ons,” Collison said. “All the pieces are there.”

Love finished 7 of 11 from the field, but did not attempt a shot for the first 10 minutes as he got his other teammates involved by passing out of double teams. He finished with four assists.

And when UCLA used a 14-0 run early in the second half to take a 48-28 lead with 14:55 left, Love was a central figure. He had six points, five rebounds and an assist in the first 5 minutes, 5 seconds of the half.

“He’s raising his level as the time becomes most important, which is what great players do,” Howland said. “And he really is great. At the end of the day, there really is no other way to describe it.”

In the locker room afterward, back center Lorenzo Mata-Real sat on a folding chair. Draped around his neck was the net from one of the baskets, and in his left hand was one of the game-used basketballs.

He was calm and relaxed, but understood his last chance at a national title is what matters most.

“I’m going to be happy, no matter what,” said Mata-Real, the senior center and fan favorite who game up his starting spot for Love. “This is a great accomplishment. You don’t see this a lot, three straight Final Fours. But it’s definitely going to be bad if we don’t win it because we worked so hard all year to get this point. We’re here now and we don’t want another loss. We know how it feels.”

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